His shoes
(for Aylan Kurdi age 3 years)
It was his ‘sneakers’,
his ‘trainers’ or whatever
we might call his tiny shoes.
The footwear he danced in,
kicked footballs, learned
to tie his laces into knots.
His best shoes, perhaps, for a journey
to a new home, a place where he
could run and play in safety.
Such shoes should not be spoiled,
sodden, soaked in salt-water
that flooded his lungs.
Kick them off Aylan, and feel
the warmth of heaven’s shore, while
your death drowns this world in tears.
Maggie Jackson
September 2015